James formed in Manchester in 1982, when Paul Gilbertson (guitar), Jim Glennie (bass), and Gavan Whelan (drums) met Tim Booth (vocals) at Manchester University and asked him to join their fledgling band. During the next year, James became regulars on the local club circuit, and by 1983 they had signed to Factory, releasing their debut EP, Jimone, later that year. Two years later, their second EP, James 2, was released, and Morrissey, the lead singer of the Smiths, publicly endorsed the group, asking them to open for his band. By the summer of 1985, Larry Gott had replaced Gilbertson, and the group signed to Sire Records. Working with producer Lenny Kaye, the group recorded its debut, Stutter, that year, releasing it in early 1986 to generally positive reviews.
Over the next two years, James toured constantly, building up a solid fan base. They released their second album, the folky Strip-Mine, in 1988. The record failed to capitalize on their live following, and the band departed Sire the following year, signing with the independent Rough Trade. On their new label, James released the moderately successful "Sit Down" and the live album One Man Clapping, which climbed to number one on the indie charts. In 1990, Whelan was replaced by David Baynton-Power, and James expanded to a septet with the addition of keyboardist Mark Hunter, violinist Saul Davies, and trumpeter Andy Diagram. The new lineup signed to Fontana Records and released Gold Mother in the fall. Following a handful of minor hit singles, Gold Mother finally became a breakthrough success in the spring of 1991, when a re-recorded version of "Sit Down" -- now boasting a contemporary baggy beat -- climbed to number two on the U.K. charts and became a staple on U.S. modern rock radio. Although the success of "Sit Down" was a blessing, it also was a curse, as the single became all James were known for. The band began to rebel in concert, playing almost nothing but new material, and its next album, 1992's Seven, was perceived as a misguided stab at big arena rock.
For the follow-up to Seven, James stripped away Diagram and worked with producer Brian Eno. The resulting record, Laid, was a quieter, more ambitious album, and it received some of the band's best reviews. While the album was ignored in the U.K., it was an alternative rock hit in the U.S. on the strength of the title track, which became a crossover hit. During the Laid sessions, James recorded another album's worth of experimental music with Eno that was released in the fall of 1994 as Wah Wah. The album received mixed reviews and the group took an extended break throughout 1995, partly due to guitarist Gott's departure. In 1996, Tim Booth recorded a collaboration with composer Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) entitled Booth and the Bad Angel, which received generally positive reviews.
With guitarist Adrian Oxaal in tow, James returned in early 1997 with Whiplash, a more straightforward record that was greeted with mixed reviews. Released in 1999, Millionaires, recorded with new guitarist Michael Kulas, was initially released only in the U.K. Their spectacular follow-up, 2001's Pleased to Meet You, was also available only in the U.K. A few months later, frontman Tim Booth announced his departure from the band he founded nearly 20 years before, and James called it quits following a winter tour of the U.K. in December 2001. The break was short-lived, however, as the band re-formed in 2007 and embarked on a tour in support of the double-disc compilation Fresh as a Daisy: The Singles. The following year saw the release of Hey Ma, James' tenth studio album.
The band returned in 2010 with a pair of "mini-albums" called The Night Before and The Morning After, respectively, before late 2011 brought a short, but novel, U.K. tour (the Orchestra of the Swan and the Manchester Consort Choir were their backup bands). In 2012, the lavish and long-awaited box set The Gathering Sound was issued, and included previously unreleased audio material alongside long-unavailable video concert footage. Details of the Max Dingel-produced La Petite Mort emerged in February 2014, and this first post-Mercury studio album was released four months later in June. Dingel then returned to produce their 2016 record, Girl at the End of the World. Written in Scotland and recorded in London, the album was described by the band as "big but personal, abrasive but warming" and "ultimately uplifting." Two years later, James teamed with producers Charlie Andrew and Beni Giles for Living in Extraordinary Times.
During the 2020 pandemic, Tim Booth teamed up with his Topanga Canyon neighbor Jacknife Lee to construct the basic tracks the rest of James completed while in quarantine. The resulting All the Colours of You was released in June 2021.
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
There are other artists using the same name:
2) James is the vocalist of popular Bangladeshi band Nagar Baul. He was a member of the band Feelings and later formed the band Nagar Baul. James was raised in Chittagong and later moved to Dhaka for his singing career. Stylishly longhaired James--overwhelmingly known as the Nagar Baul (the City Bard), was the pioneer of psychedelic rock in Bangladesh. Originally a lead singer and guitarist, he has always been respected for his solo projects. He became affectionately called Guru by his fans. His tunes were bright and his singing a divergence from the archetypal tunes preferred by the commercial-type directors. His songs expressed love, rage, discontent, frustration, and happiness.
3) A Dutch rapper connected to the Fakkelteitgroep.
4) James Lee - known as James - was a former member of Royal Pirates, a South Korean band. On 2015, he got into an accident that caused him unable to play bass any longer. Hence, he decided to left the band.
James moved back to Los Angeles and decided to release music written post accident in a project called ’the Light EP’ consisted of 5 tracks. (http://jamesleeofficial.com/)
Imagine
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
James "J.T." Taylor's song "Imagine" is a cover of the original song by John Lennon. The song explores the idea of a utopian world free from pain and suffering, and it is a call for unity, peace, and love among humanity. In the first stanza, James urges us to imagine a world without religion or the concept of heaven and hell. He suggests that it's easy to live in a world without the fear of eternal punishment or reward, and instead, live for the present moment. The idea of living for today means that we should make the most of what we have while we're here and cherish the moments that we share.
In the second stanza, James goes on to suggest that we should imagine a world without borders, where there are no countries to divide us. He challenges our need to compete against each other, even if it means killing and dying for our beliefs. James proposes a world where we live in harmony and peace, and we should strive to create a community where people can share resources and the world is a place of abundance. He believes that we should all come together as one, without any form of discrimination, bias or prejudice.
James acknowledges that some may call him a dreamer in the final verse, but he believes that he is not alone in his vision. He hopes that one day, we will all join him in creating a better world where we can love and respect one another, regardless of our differences. He knows that this may seem like an impossible task, but he encourages us to believe that we can achieve it together.
Line by Line Meaning
Imagine there's no heaven
Picture a world without the concept of an afterlife
It's easy if you try
It's not difficult to envision
No hell below us
The absence of a punishment in the afterlife
Above us only sky
The only thing that exists above us is the sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine people enjoying their lives in the present moment rather than worrying about the future
Imagine there's no countries
Imagine a world without borders separating people
It isn't hard to do
This isn't a difficult concept to grasp
Nothing to kill or die for
Without country borders, there would be no need for wars and conflicts
And no religion too
No religious beliefs to fight over
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
Visualize a world without conflict and turmoil where people can peacefully live their lives
You may say I'm a dreamer
Other people might think of me as someone who is naive and unrealistic
But I'm not the only one
There are others who share this same vision
I hope some day you'll join us
I hope that one day, others will also believe in this idealistic world
And the world will be as one
And the world will be unified and work together towards the same goal
Imagine no possessions
Visualize a world where material possessions don't matter
I wonder if you can
Questioning if the listener is able to think beyond material possessions
No need for greed or hunger
Without a desire for material possessions, there would be no need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
A world where all people are equal and share the same values
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you
Imagine a world where resources are equally shared and no one is left without necessities
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
rjmami8508
Man, I have been looking for this song for YEARS. YEARS. I used to have a client whose house I’d clean and this song always came on while I was cleaning the kitchen. I asked everyone I knew, and everyone knew what I was talking about, but nobody knew the song. Finally I found it through a post someone made on V103’s Facebook page a few years back. This song has been driving me crazy cause I would always hum it in my head 😂
Cmar Candy
I been looking for years to, since 2012 and i just found this song today, like literally just found it rn 😭🙏🏿💛. Ik exactly how you feel! Its crazy how small the world is and how similar our situations can be. I use to ask my step dad the name of this since he was the only person i heard play this and he didn't even know. Since then its just been something I'd hum to myself until now. Thanks to googles new feature i was able to hum the song and google found it, i could cry rn💯.
Noah Holcomb
His father Ed James was one of the top party DJ's for the stepping set. Back in the day I went to every party where Ed was the DJ, and I'm not the only one!!!
Kiddro22
This will never get old in the steppers scene joe!
Edward Perry III
I been looking for this song for 5 years, everytime I heard it I never had my phone on me. Today at work I had my phone when it played and used Shazam. Tears of joy, this song is beautiful :D
ShadezPB
You and me both never knew the name of it. I had to hum this to the Google bitch 😂
NMG ANT
Same
Glen Willis
i feel ya on this song Bro. one of my Favorite Steppin Songs..
Ron David
What's Shazam ? I just pressed the Google mic symbol on my phone that brought me here
Tuke/Luxurious Films
I shazam it as well